Two-thirds of shoppers say they are more green now than 5 years ago

Two thirds of people in the UK are now more environmentally conscious when shopping than they were 5 years ago, a new study has found.

Currently, over 58% of people in the UK say that they check the food that they are about to purchase for environmental credentials, according to the survery.

And Leeds has the most environmentally committed shoppers in the UK, with 12% of people saying that they never fail to check the labels for ethical and environmentally friendly food.

The research on behalf of Ginsters, which has just announced a switch to only using sustainable palm oil in all its pasties, slices and sausage rolls, polled 1,350 consumers about their shopping habits when it comes to sustainability and ethical issues.

Andy Valentine, a spokesperson at Ginsters said: “It has become increasingly apparent that consumers are starting to think more about where their food comes from and making the conscious decision to choose brands that support the environment.

“We were impressed by just how many people were influenced by these factors and it shows a real change in attitudes towards the conservation of our planet.”

In fact, the research shows 37% of people in the UK admitted that they have even stopped eating certain foods or brands in the past due to environmental reasons.

The study shows that women are more likely to change their eating habits than men for environmental reasons with nearly half of women in the UK (41%) admitting that they have stopped buying and eating certain brands over the past 5 years due to environmental reasons. Taste, however, is still very important as 80% of women say that the taste of a product influences their purchasing decision over anything else.

For men, the most important environmental issue they consider when shopping is reducing the travelling miles and buying British food (45%). For women, it is recyclable packaging (49%).

People in Southampton are the most clued up when it comes to recycling food packaging with a staggering 61% of people in the city rating it as the most important environmental friendly consideration they make when shopping.

73% of shoppers agree that they would be a more environmentally conscious shopper if sustainable products were more affordable.

91% of people in the UK who earn below £15,000 said that it is the cost over anything else which influences food purchasing decisions, before taste, brands and environmentally friendly.

Andy said: “Ginsters has always been committed to supporting the environment by boosting recycling and reducing waste in all aspects of production, and of course by sourcing ingredients locally and responsibly.

“With the introduction of sustainable palm oil, we can take a step further to helping everyday family shopping choices become more ethical. We can also guarantee that it will not mean an increase in the prices of our products.”

The survey also found that 40% of people agree that clearer labelling of the environmental credentials of food in recent years has made them more of an environmentally conscious shopper, with 35% admitting to the fact that they would definitely be more of an environmentally conscious shopper if sustainable labelling on products was clearer.

Almost a quarter of people said that they would be a more environmentally conscious shopper if sustainable products were advertised better.

People aged between 16-24 are the most influenced when it comes to those in store offers when making their food shopping decisions.

28% of people in the UK say that they buy sustainable foods as often as they can.

40% of people in the UK have agreed that we have more of a responsibility in this modern day to be environmentally conscious.

38% of people have admitted that they are more aware of the origins of food nowadays than they were 5 years ago.

The people of Plymouth are the most locally supportive city in Britain when it comes to supporting local sourced food produce, with over half (56%) rating it as their most important consideration when shopping.

Nearly half (43%) of people in the UK have said that there are a wider choice of products available now to help make environmental decisions easier when shopping.

67% of people in the UK have said that they would always buy free range eggs if available.

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